SATTE plans launching new segments at 2014 edition
Almasalla Travel News – To cater to the ever evolving travel and tourism industry SATTE 2014 might offer special exhibit zones focusing on travel technology and MICE.
Keeping industry’s demand in mind to expand the canvass of SATTE by incorporating new segments, SATTE is exploring the possibility of launching a few niche and emerging segments at its 21st edition in 2014. SATTE 2013 witnessed demand from participants, both buyers and sellers, to have players from the MICE, travel technology, and few other segments of the industry.
“We are looking at inviting some of the major players from MICE and [the] travel technology segment to participate in SATTE 2014. The idea is to expand the horizon of SATTE and make it a bigger platform to offer more networking opportunities to our partners," said Sajid Desai, Group Director, UBM India. Apart from MICE and travel technology, SATTE also plans to rope in players from medical tourism and the travel insurance field, he added.
According to him, Indian travelers are becoming more tech savvy with the advent of new technology. Citing PhoCusWright’s study, Desai said that one-third of the worldwide travel sales will be made online by the end of 2013. Moreover, social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have changed the behavior pattern of consumers as well as travel trade partners. “This is the reason that we are thinking of having travel technology as a new part of our show," he said and added that they already have the presence of online travel agencies at SATTE and it is their endeavor to make it more focused.
Similarly, MICE is also growing, and most of the participants at SATTE, such as national tourist offices of various countries, hotels and resorts, and travel agents and tour operators, among others, consider MICE as a new revenue stream. “We are chalking out a strategy as how MICE as a tourism segment can be promoted at SATTE 2014,” he concluded.
SATTE 2014 is scheduled to be held in New Delhi at Pragati Maidan from January 29-31, 2014 and in Mumbai at Nehru Centre from February 3-4, 2014
